1. Technical Field
The present invention concerns a felting device for felting fiber materials and methods of felting and an article produced by felting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Felting of fiber materials, in particular wool materials, has long been known and a distinction is basically drawn between two felting technologies, dry felting and wet felting. In both technologies, basically the raw wool sheared from the sheep, washed, dried and combed is processed in such a way that the result produced is in particular a closed, fixedly joined felt layer or felt form.
The term fiber materials is basically used hereinafter to denote all materials consisting of fibers, in particular this includes both raw material and also processed material. In the case of processed material this can basically be of any form. Fiber materials in the present case include in particular wool such as sheep's wool, yak wool, alpaca wool and also angora to give just some examples. In addition fiber materials also include vegetable materials such as cotton or hemp fibers. Fiber materials can also involve artificial, industrially manufactured materials.
The present invention concerns dry felting. In dry felting for example a felting needle which is about 8 cm in length and which is ground into a triangular configuration and which has barbs at the tip is repeatedly pushed into the raw wool. Barbs at the tip of the needle cause the individual fibers of the raw wool to be hooked together in each movement. That procedure has to be repeated until a firm closed layer has been formed at least in the desired region and the fibers are felted together. In that way for example it is also possible for two felt layers to be joined together, more specifically felted together, if the felting needle is repeatedly pushed through both layers which bear against each other and the fibers of the two layers hook into each other so that the layers are joined together.
Thus basically so much wool in a plurality of layers can be applied to each other or to an existing article and processed until the result is a desired form. In that way for example a ball, a felt animal, a hat or a slipper can be produced or improved. Basically it is possible in that way to produce virtually any desired form.
A disadvantage in that respect is that this kind of manual felting in the long term is very strenuous and tiring. To accordingly achieve an improvement, felting by means of a machine has already been proposed. Such a machine is essentially similar to a sewing machine, without a bobbin thread. Basically, instead of a sewing needle, a felting needle is moved with an oscillating motion and for the felting operation the corresponding layers to be felted are moved along between the oscillating felting needle and a backing plate. Felting with such a machine is much faster in contrast to manual felting.
Such felting machines include a needle region for movement of the needle, a backing plate or plate and a side arm connecting the two and are thus of considerable size and weight and are correspondingly difficult to move and are therefore arranged stationarily in use. A further disadvantage is that only objects up to a certain size can be processed with such machines as the objects have to be passed through in the limited space between the needle, the plate and the side arm.
Another disadvantage with such machines is that it is practically not possible to felt hollow objects in which for example something is to be applied by felting to an outer layer or wall of the hollow object. In the case of a slipper for example there is the risk that, when attempting to felt something on to its top side, it could be felted to the lower side, which is not wanted.